Hidden Talents
by Almi Melwen
Summary: Lily's penchant for sketching has remained her secret for six years until she is discovered by a fellow Gryffindor. Blackmailed into drawing a portrait of her most loathed classmate, James Potter, will she finally see another side to him?
1. Discovered

**Author's Note**: New story, new ideas. No promises on when I'll update though :P

* * *

**Chapter 1: **Discovered

* * *

Lily Evans sat at the very far corner of the Gryffindor Common room, but still close to the blazing fireplace. It was one of the few places she felt inspired. Scribbling furiously with a comfortably worn quill, she concentrated. She was almost done, when someone tapped her from behind.

Lily jumped, snapping her notebook closed, and turned to face the intruder. Her heart was pounding and she was scared that a stranger had discovered her secret hobby. She was going to give the person a piece of her mind for interrupting! But when she saw the person she breathed a sigh of relief. It was only Selene, one of the girls she tutored for Herbology (not one of Lily's best subjects, but she was decent at it and had more patience that insufferable James Potter to teach it). She was still a little irritated though, no one knew about her hobby – it was a way for her to relieve stress and she loathed to show her work to anyone. It wasn't very good, and intensely personal and private.

Lily straightened the gold rimmed glasses on her nose, and stood rigidly. "Yes Selene? Can I help you with something?" Lily tried to hide the black book behind her back but Selene's eyes were wide and focused on it. "_Pillocks,_ _she saw it_," Lily thought.

"Lily," Selene breathed, her face filled with awe. "I didn't know you could draw like _that_!" she exclaimed.

The Head Girl winced, glancing around to see James Potter and his friends crowded around a table. She didn't want everyone to know! She didn't want any ONE to know for that matter. She moved her hand in a hush-hush motion. "Please Selene, if you don't mind, I'd rather not have everyone know about my pastimes. They're not that good anyways," Lily said quietly, hoping that no one had heard Selene's outburst. That was unlikely however as aforementioned James Potter and crew had their heads turned towards them.

Selene gave her a sneaky smile. "I'll make you a deal Lily."

Lily groaned. Since when were fifth-year Gryffindors supposed to be manipulative! And to think she helped her with Herbology!

"It's not that bad," Selene said sympathetically. Her eyes were shining with eagerness.

_"Not a good sign,_" Lily thought. She recognized that look as one that James and his crew often got when they thought of an idea for a prank.

"Sketch a picture of…" she hesitated and lowered her voice a little, but she continued, "…James Potter for me, and I won't tell a soul about your little secret. I'll pay you for it too."

"_Ugh_," Lily thought. "_Why me?_" Selene was being reasonable, but it was James Potter! She couldn't stand the bugger! She didn't want to waste even a thought on him, let alone a stroke of a quill! She sighed. But she really wanted to keep her sketching a secret. It was the one thing she had to herself. And it wouldn't take her more than a couple of days to sketch the cheeky little bastard. Two days of blackmailed work, and she would be free to draw whatever she liked again.

She frowned at Selene. "I want you to know that I am only agreeing to your terms very reluctantly. I don't have a choice in this, but if that's what it will take for you to keep my secret. Although, I'm surprised you would manipulate me this way after all the help I gave you in Herbology." Lily gave her a pointed look, hoping that the girl would feel guilty enough to back down from her demand.

To her credit, Selene blushed. "I know Lily. I really am grateful for all your help. But you don't know how long I've wanted a picture of James. I have the biggest crush on him," she admitted.

Lily's resolve softened just a tiny bit. "So why not just get a picture from him? There's . . . Merlin knows more than enough floating around." She rolled her eyes, remembering the stupid git signing his bloody pictures for his adoring fans, not even being considerate enough to be quiet about it!

"He always has this arrogant smile though. I was hoping you could sketch a portrait of him that's more relaxed, more . . . personable, charming," Selene said shyly. "Besides, I've always been a fan of Muggle styled art work, and not the normal moving ones."

"Alright, alright. I'll see what I can do. But this is the last time for this sort of thing Selene," Lily said firmly. "I should have it done in a few days. See me at the end of the week."

Selene nodded eagerly and rushed off.

"Morgana's curses!" Lily cried, grabbing her things and stalked out of the room. What in the bloody hell had she gotten herself into?

"What's wrong with her?" Peter asked, voicing the question the other Marauders had as they watched the irate Head Girl curse under her breath and walk out of the room.

"No idea mate, no idea," Sirius said, shaking his head, and going back to the game they were playing.

James merely sneaked a glance at Lily before she left, his curiosity piqued.


	2. The Quidditch Pitch

**Chapter 2: The Quidditch Pitch**

* * *

"Why are you letting yourself be blackmailed into this?" Eva demanded to know.

Lily sighed, tired of explaining herself to her friend. "It's a relatively small price to pay in return for keeping it a secret." She regretted telling the black-haired witch about her sticky situation, even though Eva didn't press to see her sketches. She had hoped Eva would be able to think an alternative solution. Lily **really **didn't want to sketch the Head Boy.

"You and I both know you could have easily erased her memory." Eva studied her cuticles and brushed her nails against her robe – a sure sign of her boredom – as she lounged on her bed. Lily was too goody-goody for self-preservation sometimes.

Lily began to launch into her obligations as a Head Girl speech, but Eva cut her off. "Save your breath, I'm quite familiar with the stick-up-your-arse-obligation speech." Lily shot her a dirty look and she flashed Lily a smile woven with impatience and caring. "Look, deal with this mess however you'd like but don't say I didn't warn you. You should have just zapped her memory. A few seconds and you wouldn't be worrying about it now." Eva hopped off the couch while Lily was looking out the small window in the girl's dorms. "Just be glad I'm not blackmailing you too." She smirked wickedly, heading for the door.

"Now what do you mean by warning-" Lily started but huffed indignantly when she realized Eva had already left.

* * *

Sketchbook in hand, Lily headed to the Quidditch pitch where the Gryffindor team was practicing. Instead of sitting in the stands, as a few players' girlfriends and admirers were doing, she stayed in the shadows of an exit corridor, or at least what she thought was the exit corridor. Lily had admittedly never been to many Quidditch games, not being very interested in the sport. She didn't see the point of the silly sport especially since it provided another opportunity for Potter to brag about himself. No thank you, she'd rather spend her precious time catching up with homework or planning for the next prefect meetings or chatting with Eva (though she was at the games most of the time).

The pitch actually looked quite nice from where Lily stood, and she could **almost **understand why Potter would want to spend so much time out here. A soft breeze blew and she could hear birds chirping in the distance. She could feel the warmth of the sun's rays even from where she stood.

Suddenly a player flew right past her, making a circle around the pitch, as well as causing a great gust of wind to whip her robes around her small frame. Lily scowled, straightening her robes and remembered why she was out here in the first place. Scanning the pitch, she spotted Potter near the center warming up with the rest of the team.

She took a deep breath, opening to a blank page in her sketchbook. Lily stared at Potter's face for a few seconds before transferring what she saw to the page. Frowning in concentration as she made the outline, Lily glanced back at him again, getting the basic contours of his face and features sketched. It was actually easier than she thought. Potter didn't have his usual arrogant and smug expression when he was flying on the pitch.

Unfortunately because she was so caught up in sketching, she lost track of time and the descent of the Gryffindor team, signaling practice was over.

"Alright! See the lot of you on Wednesday!" said an exuberant team captain, as the rest of the team shouted their goodbyes to James, quickly heading to the locker room before he could think of any more drills. The girls in the stands rushed off to meet their beaus or flirt with a crush when they got out of the locker rooms.

James was in a fairly good mood – flying always cleared his mind, even if it was Quidditch practice and running drills. His team looked in good shape for upcoming matches. Not to mention, his teachers had gone easy on the students this week in terms of homework. The full moon wasn't for another couple weeks, meaning Remus wasn't grouchy or tired lately, and the teachers hadn't been able to pin the last prank Sirius had pulled on anyone. Yes, life was indeed good at the moment.

One last circle around the pitch and he flew down, intending to head to the boys' locker room until a movement in the shadows caught his eye. Could it possibly be? Intrigued, he headed towards the darkened corridor.

Lily heard the sound of footsteps and looked up in shock and horror. Potter was heading her way, and she'd be cursed if he thought she was another one of his fans. Snapping her book closed, she snatched her book bag from the ground, and hurried in the opposite direction, hoping he hadn't been close enough to see who had been there.

No such luck. "Lily! Is that you?" called James behind her.

Grimacing, she stopped but didn't turn around as he approached. She took the opportunity to hastily stuff her sketch book in her bag.

The loud smack of his sleek Quidditch boots echoed on the pavement and quieted as he reached her. Lily gulped. How was she going to explain why she was here? As she turned around she noted that his Quidditch kit actually looked quite nice on his tall athletic figure. Mentally chastising herself, Lily reminded herself that she didn't need to be looking at him since she wasn't sketching.

"Fancy seeing you here," he grinned. He ran a hand through his hair as he watched her. Lily fidgeted, not quite meeting his eyes making James wonder if she was nervous…or was that guilt?

"Yes well I..um.." Lily struggled to find an explanation. She faltered at his welcoming smile. Since when had that happened?

"I hate to disappoint you, but I'm actually busy this Hogsmeade weekend," James said, adopting a sincere tone, watching her reaction. "Or did you come here for some pleasant snogging?"

Lily turned pink. "What!" She was horrified to find she was actually blushing at his implication that **she **was asking **him **out on a date or she had come here to **snog** the arrogant prat. "I didn't mean-"

"But I'm actually free tonight." He winked at her, chuckling at her embarrassment.

Lily decided he had teased her enough…or was he being serious? "No you're not, Potter. If you haven't forgotten we have a meet–"

"Oh right you are, I did forget about our little date tonight. My apologies." James gave her a smile, as he cut her off again. "But don't you worry Lily, I will be there on time, and armed with good intentions." As an afterthought he added, "Well, as good intentioned as I can be anyways."

"Now just wait a minute Potter," Lily stated with a firm tone. She was going to end all illusions he had about their Head meeting being any sort of date or voluntary attendance on her part. "We are not going out on a-"

"Would you look at the time? I need to be off, take a shower before our rendezvous tonight," James said, pointing to his watch. He held his laughter as he spied her glaring at him for interrupting her again no doubt. Debating with himself, he quickly he planted a kiss on her cheek, before jogging off, half thinking she would throw a hex at his back if he didn't hurry.

If he had turned around, he would have seen Lily rolling her eyes at his antics. But more than that, he would have noted that her blush deepened just a little.


	3. Jealousy, McGonagall and Pain

**Author's Note: **For you "Elusive" fans who want to know the status - the next chapter is halfway done.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Jealousy, McGonagall and Pain**

* * *

Lily sat, drumming her fingers on the new table in the middle of the warm Heads' Common room. She hated waiting and James was definitely late. She groaned with impatience when she spotted the time – half an hour had passed since the supposed meeting time.

So much for leaving her textbooks in her room, thinking it would be a quick meeting. Where was James anyways! Slouching in the armchair, Lily's hand hit her book bag. Wait, she had her sketchbook with her.

Grinning in triumph, Lily whipped it out, happy to have something to do. Then she remembered her most recent project and she frowned. Grumbling, she figured she'd better get it done sooner rather than later, and after it was done, she would **not **have to think about James Potter other than Head meetings. Even in meetings with the Prefects she tended to ignore him. She wasn't rude, no. Lily liked to think she was diplomatic even working with someone as immature as Potter.

The black book loomed up at her, lying comfortably in her lap as she scowled. Gritting her teeth as she fished for a pencil (she found she didn't sketch as well with quills) Lily reminded herself this was the price she had to pay for keeping her hobby a secret. Turning to the page of the rough sketching of James Potter she filled in some of it with softer lines, working from her memory. Shading parts of the picture to give it depth, Lily didn't hear the door creak open. When she really concentrated on drawing, she lost herself entirely to it and didn't think of anything else – which made it an excellent distraction from her hectic life. Unfortunately, that particular trait didn't help her at the moment. Only when she heard panting did Lily's head snap up.

"Potter!" He looked sweaty, dirty, not to mention a gash on his forehead that was bleeding profusely.

"Oh hey Lily, sorry I'm late," he apologized. He gave her a sheepish look. "I hope you're not too mad, something ran a bit over."

"For heaven's sake Potter – are you alright?" Lily hastily discarded her book and pencil to the side, grabbing her wand, and looked for a cloth of some sort. Spotting her tissues on a nearby table, she took some to James.

"I'm fine," he insisted, brushing off her concern like it was nothing important. "Let me just clean up and I'll be right out." He began to head to the stairs leading to his separate room, but Lily stopped him.

"Now just wait one minute. You're bleeding, sweaty, look as if you've been in some sort of scuffle and you want me to believe that you're _fine_?" Lily looked at him disbelievingly with her large green eyes. "As Head Girl I demand to know what you've been up to Potter. What if someone else is seriously hurt? Was this another prank of yours?" Her words rushed together as possibilities entered her mind.

James merely smiled at her. "While your concern is touching, darling, you can't pull rank on me since we do share the same authority. I promise though, you don't have to worry about any one else being hurt and it was not a prank." He made a mock bow before her. "Now if you don't mind, I need to clean up as this was not how I intended to look for our date."

Lily made a sound of disbelief – she didn't know whether to scold him for continuing the date pretense or ignoring the seriousness of his injuries. "Potter if you move a toe I **will **hex you into submission. For the love of Merlin! You're bleeding all over the place!" And indeed he was, drops of blood were spilling onto the crimson carpet, Charmed to match the rest of the Gryffindor-ish decor in the Head Common room.

Lily wiped his face to be able to actually see how badly he was cut. Thankfully it was not as bad as she feared. Her Muggle instincts took over her magical ones and she wiped the rest of his face gently, absentmindedly thinking of where she could find a bandage.

James only adored her more for her forgetfulness. "You **are** a witch you know." His eyes sparkled as he delighted in watching her stammer and blush a little as she whipped her hand back with the blood-stained tissue.

"Yes, as if I didn't know that already Potter. Your insightfulness is astounding," Lily retorted, trying to cover up her embarrassment at unnecessarily touching him. She frowned at how dirty his cut was. Bits of things she couldn't identify were going to give him a nasty infection if it wasn't cleaned properly. "What you really need is some wound-cleaning potion Potter, but I don't happen to carry that around every day." Thinking for a moment, Lily came to a decision and grabbed James by the hand, leading him to the door. "I'll see you to Madame Pomfrey."

James quickly steered her the other way. "Oh no you don't. I'm quite fine without a mediwitch thank you. I actually…" he trailed off nervously, releasing her and running a hand through his hair. He didn't meet her eyes.

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Yes Potter? Something you'd like to share?" She folded her arms and tapped her foot.

He coughed, feeling the penetrating intelligent gaze on his back. "I actually have some wound-cleaning potion."

"_And blood-replenishing, Pepper up_, _Skele-Gro_…" James thought to himself, wondering what Lily would make of that.

"I suppose I should ask why you have an unusual medical potion handy…but I might just let it slide this time if you tell me what happened." Lily was trying to finagle him out of information that would no doubt satisfy her growing curiosity about what he did when he wasn't in class, but more importantly reassure her that there was no one else that was hurt. It was her duty as Head Girl to watch over any and all students in the castle.

James sighed, losing the playful look he had adorned when talking to Lily. He just wanted to forget about the fight he had with Amos Diggory and his friends. It was more like an ambush as they knew he was on his way to a Head meeting with Lily. He had been surprised at Amos' anger towards him – he had thought they only shared a Quidditch rivalry but if tonight had been any indication it was more than that. James should have deducted house points for their conduct but pride was at stake, not to mention McGonagall intervened as well.

* * *

"_Going to deduct house points Potter?" Amos scoffed as two of his friends came behind the Head boy. "So terrifying," he said with a sarcastic edge to his voice._

_James only smiled at him, which served to further infuriate him. "Don't think you want your house to be in the negative Diggory. You'll need them when you play Gryffindor in a few weeks."_

_The Hufflepuff boy launched his fist at James, who managed to step back in time, only catching a fraction of the blow intended for him. He staggered back a little, blackness temporarily entering his vision, as he heard the rustle of robes behind him. Knowingly, James ducked, managing to escape a Jelly-Brain jinx intended for him, hitting Diggory instead._

_Still dazed, James turned around a bit slower than he would have liked. Diggory's other mate grinned at him, as he shouted, "Diffindo!"_

_James still tried to throw up a shield in time: "Protego!"_

_The hex whizzed by the shield that had just gone up and made a nasty cut on James' head, very similar to the pain Snape's curse had done to him a couple years back. He groaned a little, still resisting the temptation to hex all of them into oblivion with the encyclopedia of jinxes he knew by heart. Standing in a defensive position, he moved towards the wall so none of them could cast spells at his back._

"_Alright, what's the big idea? A silly hex or two, practical jokes, those are all things I can understand, and even laugh about, but casting to injure? That's going a bit far, mate." James growled, very aware of the shiny Head Boy badge pinned to the front of his robes._

_Amos, meanwhile, had enough sense to reverse the hex cast upon him and turned to glower at James. "As if you don't know! Head Boy should have been me Potter! You stole it from me – I bet your parents paid loads to get you that position didn't he because we both bloody well know you never deserved it!"_

_James looked at him in disbelief and chuckled. "Is that what this is all about? I never asked to be Head Boy – hell I wasn't even a Prefect. You're seriously nutters if you think I asked for the position."_

_Amos was almost seeing red – he was so angry. Everything was handed to Potter on a platter – Head Boy, Quidditch captain, and the latest – Lily Evans. Or at least he suspected it when he heard she had been watching Potter at practice and not him. She was quite easily one of the prettiest girls at school, and one of the few that he really wanted on his arm. He could have sworn she would have agreed to be his date for Hogsmeade if it weren't for the insufferable bastard in front of him. Enough was enough._

_He leapt at Potter, nodding to his mates to hold him down._

"_Petrificus Totalus!" came an angry voice from the end of the corridor, accompanied by the unmistakable click of high heels._

_James gulped. McGonagall._

"_What is going on here!" she demanded, after releasing Amos from the Body-bind spell. Her anger radiated from her no-nonsense tone as her nostrils flared and her mouth was set in a very thin line._

_After hearing stories from all four boys, McGonagall sent Diggory and his friends off, promising them a world of punishment and stern lecturing from the Headmaster. She even hinted at the possibility of expulsion for attacking a fellow student._

_James waved it off. Diggory wasn't evil, just jealous. "There's no need to expel him Professor."_

"_The Headmaster will be the judge of that Mr. Potter," interrupted a dignified looking McGonagall as she straightened out her robes. "You best be headed to Madame Pomfrey." She fixed him with a look that had no room for argument – much like the look Lily gave him sometimes, which he ignored much to her frustration and his delight. But he wasn't about to argue with McGonagall._

_James heaved a great sigh, making a big show that he was reluctantly obedient to her instruction and headed towards the infirmary. As soon as he was out of her sight however, he took a relatively less known passage to go back towards the Head Common room, grinning at his cleverness. He didn't curb every one of his desires when he had become Head Boy._

_Some things would never change._

* * *

James decided the best approach would be to ask her bluntly to leave it alone. "Look, just for once, could you forget your obligations as Head Girl and don't ask me about it alright? I know you don't trust me, but you can trust the same sense of duty that binds me to Head obligations."

That answer seemed to satisfy Lily or so he thought until she opened her mouth again to speak. "So…"

James frowned. So much for asking nicely.

Lily sighed, exasperated with him. "Are all of you boys such idiots? Wound-cleaning potion Potter?"

"Oh right!" He blinked and snapped to action. "_Accio_ _wound-cleaning potion_," he intoned and a bottle of purple liquid flew into his outstretched palm. The stuff was notoriously painful as it stung worse than the injuries oftentimes.

Lily took it from him, grinning. "Well I hope whatever you got yourself into was worth it Potter." Smoke billowed from where she popped out the cork as she slathered some onto a cloth.

"That's more than enough don't you think, love?" James laughed nervously, backing into a wall as Lily looked ready to pounce onto him with the now purple-stained cloth, smoke trailing behind it as she moved like a predatory cat.

"Oh no, I think it's just enough to make you **really** consider your actions next time." She smiled sweetly at him, inching towards him, knowing that her slowness was only adding to his horror.

James winced. There had to be **something **he could do to escape the clutches of the smirking Lily right now, who cast a Silencing Charm on the room.

He panicked – pride be damned. He gave her his best begging eyes.

"Mercy?"


	4. Morning of Confrontations

**Author's Note: **For those of you wondering, I had previously posted Chapter 4, but taken it down for revision upon a couple of suggestions from reviewers. Sorry for the delay and I hope you'll give your honest feedback.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 4: The Morning of Confrontations**

* * *

He never knew she had it in her, but as he got up completely sore and in loads of pain, James would never again doubt the capability of the Head Girl to have a wicked streak in her. Who would have thought the seemingly proper and polite Lily Evans would be able to make him truly regret romping around at night, even though the fight had not been his fault. 

James groaned as he touched his forehead, wincing as it still stung from last night. He made a mental note not to get on Lily's bad side again as he readied himself for breakfast.

Heading down the stairs to the shared common room, he spotted some of the books Lily had left there from last night. That was strange – usually she had them with her at all times, or put away. She wasn't a slob as far as he could tell.

James almost left the room when a black book with no title caught his eye. It wasn't a school textbook or a library book. Curious, he picked it up.

"Impedimenta!" cried Lily from the top of the stairs, having just gotten ready for breakfast. The spell shot out of her wand, immobilizing James. She flew down the stairs, grabbing the book out of his hands before the jinx wore off. She panted from moving so fast and realized how close James had been to discovering what exactly what was in that book.

The now mobile James looked at her in bewilderment.

Lily scowled at him. "Do the words 'personal property' mean anything at all to you?" she hissed, possessively clutching the black sketchbook to her chest.

"Er.." James scratched the back of his head, giving her a sheepish smile. "Sorry, really I am. I was just curious. You did leave your things sprawled out all over the place."

"Oh so now it's my fault you distracted me by bleeding all over the place?" She dared him to challenge her. She was upset because her most personal secret nearly being discovered by a boy she knew was very capable of being insensitive about it. He could post the sketches for the entire school to laugh at, or even worse, think she was another one of his adoring fans.

James gave her an innocent look. "You found me attractive enough to be distracting?" Then he grinned at seeing her outwitted and disbelieving expression. "I'm flattered! Honestly Lily, first the Quidditch Pitch and now this."

Lily's slack jaw expression and twitching fingers made James think it was time for a hasty exit before she recovered her wits enough to hex him for his bold comments. And he was indeed right as she gave him a look he could have sworn was almost amused but promised heavy retribution for his smart comments.

Her lips twitched as she gave him a speculative look. "You have five seconds to get out of here, Potter, before I hex you like I've never hexed anyone before. And if you thought the stinging was bad last night…"

James' eyes widened in terror and he subconsciously let out a small whimper.

"Five…"

James was out of the door and to the next hallway before Lily could even say 'four.' She smirked, blowing the tip of her wand and twirling it as she had seen cowboys do to their smoking guns in American western movies.

"I still got it," Lily sung in smug satisfaction.

* * *

Lily was glaring daggers (discretely or so she thought) at the person responsible for her recent trouble with Potter. Selene, for her part was completely unaware. 

"You know if you had listened to me, you wouldn't be in this mess," commented Eva.

Lily turned her nasty glare upon Eva, one of the few people she would tolerate teasing from. "I told you before…Head Girl…no hexing…memory charms...remember?" she bit out.

The black-haired witch nodded, but clearly didn't believe her. "So why is it then, you have no problem hexing Potter?"

"I did **not **hex Potter!" Lily said with heavy emphasis. She almost had, but Eva didn't need to know that. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

Eva spared a glance at the redhead. "So you snogged him then," she said matter-of-factly, wondering how Lily would take that. Something had gone on last night, for James to be sneaking more glances than usual at her.

Lily blinked. "What?" She dropped her toast, her eyes narrowing at Eva. "I could have sworn you said-"

"I did." Eva said smugly. "So the rumors are true then." She could have mentioned she had started the rumors…but why ruin the fun? Lily was too uptight for her own good; she needed a little excitement in her life.

"Rumors?" Lily repeated, stunned. "I did not snog Potter!" she insisted strongly, keeping her voice low enough as to not attract unwanted attention. "Whatever you heard about Potter and me is simply rubbish. You know if you weren't my friend-" She glared at Eva.

"**Best**," corrected Eva, basking in the redhead's discomfort. James, she noted, was looking thoroughly amused by Lily's reaction. He must have overheard Lily's declaration. She couldn't blame him. It wasn't often that she was visibly shaken. Not to mention that glare Lily had perfected over the years, thanks to none other than James himself. It didn't faze Eva in the least though.

Lily growled. "Fine. If you weren't my _best _friend you would have the honor of being the recipient of my first hex as Head Girl." Grabbing her things, Lily marched off, shooting both Eva and James a dirty look.

Eva snickered as Lily left early for her next class – claiming to be too disgusted to eat anything else. "Whatever you say Lily… whatever you say."

Smoothing her short black hair back, she noticed Amos heading her way. She arched an eyebrow at him, but didn't move from her spot. She wasn't intimidated by very many things – least of all boys.

He slid into the seat across from her, flashing what he thought was a charming smile. Eva immediately suspected that he wanted something.

"Can I help you find your seat Amos? As I recall it's right across the room next to the Slytherins." She didn't spare him a glance as she picked at her blueberry muffin, popping the wild blueberries into her mouth. Eva closed her eyes in bliss; nothing could beat blueberries in her opinion.

"Huh…is it really? Well good thing I wasn't planning on sitting there now isn't it?" He looked unperturbed by her open hostility towards him. Amos had surmounted more difficult challenges before; it only took time and patience on his part.

"Must be my lucky day," Eva retorted sarcastically, not letting Amos' presence ruin her delicious food.

"Funny that you mention it actually," he moved to sit right next to her, ignoring what sounded like a growl from her. "I've decided you're the one that has the _privilege _of walking me to my first class today."

She wondered if his ego could be any bigger. "Oh really, your Highness?" Eva stood up from the table, mirroring his wide smile.

With that, she dumped the rest of her breakfast onto his lap, calmly retrieved her book bag and left.


End file.
